MLB\u2019s Spring Breakout series has returned for 2026, and Baseball America is on hand for each and every game that will be played.<\/p>\n
Below, you can find our complete rundown of superlatives from the first two days of games, including analysis of top hitters, pitchers and defenders, the best individual pitches we\u2019ve seen and Statcast data that caught our attention.<\/p>\n
You can jump right to each day\u2019s analysis using the links below. Stay tuned throughout the weekend for more updates as we continue to scout the game\u2019s top prospects<\/a> at this year\u2019s Spring Breakout.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s Games<\/p>\n Superlatives<\/p>\n Hitter of the Day: Mariners outfielder Yorger Bautista<\/a> hasn\u2019t played an official game in the U.S., but he made an eye-opening appearance in his team\u2019s Spring Breakout tilt against Milwaukee. The 18-year-old, who racked up 18 extra-base hits, including seven home runs, last year in the Dominican Summer League<\/a>, finished the day 2-for-3 with a triple and a long, loud round-tripper in the ninth inning. All three of his batted-ball events came with exit velocities greater than 100 mph, and both of his hits left the bat at 109 mph or hotter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pitcher of the Day: Mariners righthander Ryan Sloan<\/a> started his team\u2019s game against a prospect-packed Brewers lineup and cut through them quick, fast and in a hurry. Armed with an ideal power pitcher\u2019s build, Sloan set to work slicing and dicing through his three innings. He retired all nine hitters he faced, including three with strikeouts. Twenty-four of his 39 pitches were strikes, and he coaxed four whiffs, including two on a nasty sweeper, another on a cutter and one more on his four-seamer, which averaged 98 mph and touched a tick hotter while showing hard, late sinking action at times. He looked every bit of a future top-end starter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Joseph Dzierwa<\/a> had quite the showing in this year\u2019s Spring Breakout game. The Orioles\u2019 2025 second-round pick out of Michigan State pitched the final three innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight of the ten batters he faced. Dzierwa sat 94-95 mph on his fastball, generating seven whiffs against the pitch. He flashed his signature changeup and mixed in a couple of sliders. Dzierwa looks like a name to follow in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fielder of the Day: You\u2019d have to go back to 2022 for when Gavin Cross<\/a> last played a game at first base, but he was inserted to the right corner of the Royals\u2019 infield in their game against the Rangers. In the first inning, Cross was tested early when Maxton Martin<\/a> ripped an opposite-field liner at a 109 mph exit velocity, and he made a diving catch to record the out.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Red Sox outfielder Enddy Azocar<\/a> made his name with strong exit velocities last season. In yesterday\u2019s Spring Breakout, Azocar lived up to it, making two outstanding plays on hard-hit balls to the right-center field gap. The first came against Ike Irish<\/a> on a ball that, off the bat, looked like extra bases, but instead ended the third. It was a good route, and Azocar jumped to secure the ball before it sailed to the wall. The following inning, Wehiwa Aloy<\/a> drove a Juan Valera<\/a> cutter to a similar spot at 99 mph, and Azocar made another sensational jumping catch on the run.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt<\/a> has earned a reputation as a sparkling defender, and he reinforced that notion immediately against the Mariners on Friday. After Jonny Farmelo<\/a> singled to lead things off, Michael Arroyo<\/a> tried to add another baserunner by shooting a ball to the 5.5 hole. Pratt wasn\u2019t having it. He ranged deep to his right, corralled the grounder, contorted his body and threw across the diamond in time to nab Arroyo by a step.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Not to be outdone, Brewers outfielder Luis Lara<\/a> also turned in a web gem. With the aforementioned triple already under his belt, Yorger Bautista made another bid for extra bases but didn\u2019t hit it quite deep enough into the alley to escape Lara\u2019s leather. The center fielder sprinted to his left, snared the ball and then crashed into the fence while securing the catch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: In the Tigers\/Pirates game, Jack Penney<\/a> and Jordan Yost<\/a> combined to turn a very smooth, fluid double play that showed off how both of them have shortstop actions.<\/p>\n Best Pitches<\/p>\n Best Fastball: Seth Hernandez\u2019s<\/a> first pitch of the Pirates game was 102.4 mph. He missed the zone by small margins throughout his outing, but he also demonstrated overwhelming velocity. He sat at 100-101 mph with his fastball, and his slowest was still 99 mph.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Royals righthander Kendry Chourio<\/a> maxed out at 97.7 mph last season in a pro debut that saw him soar through the DSL all the way to Low-A Columbia. The 18-year-old sat 96-97 mph in the Spring Breakout game vs. the Rangers and topped out at 98.5 mph.\u00a0<\/p>\n Best Breaking Ball\/Changeup: Red Sox 2025 third-round pick Anthony Eyanson<\/a> struck out the side in his lone inning of work against the Orioles, all on curveballs. He froze two hitters with the 82-83 mph offering and got another lunging at a pitch down and out of the zone for a checked-swing strikeout. Eyanson also had two whiffs on his slider and one on his splitter, giving him four in just 14 pitches. Hitters were flummoxed by his secondary stuff and ended up way out in front of it, as they had to gear up for his high-90s fastball.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Brewers righthander Jaron DeBerry<\/a> showcased a sublime feel for spin<\/a> during his two-inning appearance. The Dallas Baptist product got whiffs on 10 of 18 swings, including going a perfect 3-for-3 on his curveball, three apiece on his cutter and four-seamer and one more on his two-seamer. DeBerry\u2019s breaking pitches were sharp and powerful and easily stood out as the best in his team\u2019s Breakout game against the Mariners.\u00a0<\/p>\n Statcast Standouts<\/p>\n Fastest Pitch: There were plenty of pitchers who reached triple digits, including:<\/p>\n Pirates 2025 first-rounder Seth Hernandez maxed out at 102.4 mph and hit triple digits 11 times during his inning. In the other three Friday Breakout games combined, there were only seven pitches that reached triple digits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Red Sox righthander Juan Valera hit triple digits during his last outing on the backfields<\/a> and he repeated that feat in the Spring Breakout game, hitting 100 mph or more three times and maxing out at 100.5 mph.<\/p>\n Anthony Eyanson also joined the party against the Orioles, touching 100.2 mph. The Red Sox righty is showing major velocity gains this spring after maxing out at 97.7 mph at LSU in 2025.<\/p>\n In the Royals\/Rangers game, a pair of righthanded relievers reached triple digits. Royals 2024 seventh-round pick Dennis Colleran<\/a> hit it twice, maxing out at 100.2 mph, while Rangers 2019 12th-round pick Gavin Collyer<\/a> hit exactly 100 mph once.<\/p>\n Though nobody in the Mariners\/Brewers game officially reached 100 mph, you could make a mathematical case that Ryan Sloan did so by rounding up, since he maxed out at 99.5 mph. Sloan\u2019s velocity was up during his lone appearance in major league camp<\/a>, and his hardest fastball topped his 2025 max of 98.8 mph.<\/p>\n Hardest Hits: Johnny Farmelo hit a 112.4 mph single off Bishop Letson<\/a>. Yorger Bautista tagged a 110.2 mph triple. Gavin Cross smashed a 110.1 mph home run. Mitch Jebb<\/a> had a 109.5 mph triple.<\/p>\n Fastest Runners: Brewers infielder Luis Pe\u00f1a<\/a> had a pair of sprint speeds recorded at 30-plus feet per second on ground outs, and Mariners outfielder Jonny Farmelo was clocked at 30.4 feet\/second and turned in a 4.24 time home to first on a double play he grounded into. Reed Trimble<\/a>, meanwhile, turned in a 30.4 feet\/second sprint speed and a 4.18 home-to-first time on a single.<\/p>\n Hardest Throw By A Defender: There weren\u2019t many exceptional throws in Friday\u2019s Spring Breakout games. The best on an out came via Brewers shortstop Brady Ebel\u2019s<\/a> 87.2 mph throw on a double play. Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin<\/a> had an 86.7 mph throw on a groundout, as well.<\/p>\n Back to top\u2191<\/a><\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s Games<\/p>\n Superlatives<\/p>\n Hitter of the Day: Nationals third baseman Gavin Fien<\/a> went 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs. He squared up a Liam Doyle<\/a> 97 mph fastball in the first inning for an RBI double and then connected with a Tyler Bradt<\/a> sweeper for a two-RBI double in the second. Fien grounded out against Tanner Franklin<\/a> in his next at-bat, but he bounced back with an RBI single in his second look at Franklin. He added a walk in the ninth inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Reds outfielder Hector Rodriguez<\/a> has a knack for finding the barrel, and he did so in a big, loud way in his first at-bat. Facing Giants starter Keyner Martinez<\/a>, Rodriguez reached out and put the good part of the bat on a hanging changeup. The ball traveled an estimated 424 feet before settling on the grass beyond the wall in right-center field for the game\u2019s only home run. Rodriguez finished the day 2-for-3 with four RBIs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pitcher of the Day: Reds righthander Chase Petty<\/a> was the only player in his team\u2019s game with big league experience, and he certainly looked the part over four shutout innings against the Giants with one hit and six strikeouts on his ledger. His slider and sweeper drew four whiffs on nine swings. Both pitches featured vicious bite and were responsible for four of his punchouts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fielder of the Day: Reds righthander Aaron Watson<\/a> relieved Petty and turned in a scoreless inning. The 2025 second-rounder out of high school in Jacksonville induced a nubber up the first base line from Charlie Szykowny<\/a>. Watson pounced on it quickly enough to keep it from rolling foul, then contorted his body and threw a strike over the shoulder of Szykowny and into the glove of first baseman Cam Collier<\/a> for the final out of the inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Marlins righty Aiden May<\/a> fielded a comebacker and threw home to catcher Joe Mack<\/a> to start a 1-2-3 double play that erased a runner at home and got him out of a bases-loaded jam. In an inning in which he gave up three walks and a single, May\u2019s defensive play kept him from allowing a run.<\/p>\n Most Impressive Moment: Twins\u2019 outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez<\/a> had a very impressive day at the plate, but no moment better summarized his loud tools than his triple in the bottom of the fourth. In a 2-2 count, Rodriguez hit a 97 mph fastball to left center field. The ball traveled at 113.2 mph and over center fielder Dante Nori\u2019s<\/a> head. Rodriguez turned on the jets and slid hard into third, catching the third base bag with flair.\u00a0<\/p>\n Best Pitches<\/p>\n Best Fastball: Nationals righthander Miguel Sime Jr<\/a>. fell behind JJ Wetherholt<\/a> 3-0, but thanks to his 100-plus mph fastball, he worked back into the count and eventually struck out the No. 3 overall prospect.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Twins lefty Dasan Hill<\/a> hit 100.1 mph, as well as 99 mph multiple times. He produced multiple fastballs in the neighborhood of 20 inches of induced vertical break, too.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Giants lefthander Nick Zwack<\/a> bridged the gap between the two halves of Luis De La Torre\u2019s<\/a> appearance (pitchers can re-enter the game after being removed). His appearance was notable for his jump in velocity. In 2025, the 27-year-old\u2019s fastball averaged 93.1\u00a0mph and maxed at 95.8. On Thursday, the pitch averaged 96.3 mph and topped at 97.6. His outing was just 0.2 innings, but the extra giddy-up on his fastball was enough to open eyes.<\/p>\n Best Breaking Ball\/Changeup: Marlins\u2019 starter Karson Milbrandt<\/a> struggled to throw his hard 86-87 mph slider for strikes, but when he did, Astros hitters didn\u2019t know what to do with it. Milbrandt got five whiffs out of the eight sliders Astros hitters swung at.<\/p>\n Honorable Mention: Righthander Marco Raya<\/a> enters 2026 in a full-time bullpen role for the first time in his career, and he showed electric stuff during his inning closing out the Twins\u2019 victory against the Phillies. Raya recorded three whiffs and both his strikeouts on a sweeper at 86-87 mph during his 1-2-3 ninth inning. His most impressive pitch of the outing was an 86.9 mph sweeper with 16 inches of horizontal break at 2,700 rpm for a swinging strike to start the inning.\u00a0<\/p>\n Statcast Standouts<\/p>\n Fastest Pitches: There were plenty of pitchers who reached triple digits, including:<\/p>\n Chase Petty led all pitchers on the first day of the Spring Breakout with a 102.1 mph fastball, although he didn\u2019t throw any other pitch above 98 mph.<\/p>\n Miguel Sime Jr. topped out at 101.9 mph and topped 100 nine times. He got up to 20 inches of induced vertical break, as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n Astros righty Leomar Rosario<\/a> had four pitches clocked at 100.0 mph or harder, topping out at 100.2. Rosario struck out three of the four batters he faced, using his fastball to set up his cutter, which got three whiffs.<\/p>\n The Angels\u2019 Nate Snead<\/a> touched triple digits three times, topping out at 100.5 mph.<\/p>\n Dasan Hill hit 100.1 mph in the first inning and sat 98-99 throughout the frame. He then settled into the mid 90s over the next two. Hill finished the day with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits and two walks.<\/p>\n Hardest Hits: Emmanuel Rodriguez didn\u2019t just have the hardest-hit ball of the day\u2014he had the two hardest-hit balls of the day! After striking out in his first at-bat, Rodriguez lined a 95 mph fastball to right field for a single at 115.6 mph. He followed it up with his aforementioned triple to left center at 113.2 mph off a 97 mph fastball. A pair of 19-year-old Angels outfielders, Hayden Alvarez<\/a> and Anthony Santa Cruz de Oviedo<\/a>, had the next two hardest hits of the day at 113 mph and 112.9 mph, respectively. Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez<\/a> rounded out the top five with a 112.7 mph exit velocity on his line-drive home run to left field against the Nationals.<\/p>\n Fastest Runner: Reds outfielder Carlos Jorge<\/a> turned in the two fastest home-to-first times of Thursday\u2019s opening Breakout games. His bunt to lead off the day against the Giants saw him reach first in 3.86 seconds. Later, he was thrown out at first despite getting there in 4.06 seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hardest Throw By A Defender: He wasn\u2019t able to turn it into an out because it was a high-bouncing chopper far to his right, but Twins third baseman Quentin Young<\/a> uncorked an absolute seed of a throw with a low one-hopper that was clocked at 93.4 mph. That is harder than any throw by any third baseman in an MLB spring training game this year (other than a wild throw for an error by Aroon Escobar<\/a>).<\/p>\n